I prefer the current system. I think it already brings people to the timeds as well as the new proposal would. I think the new proposal would reward the elite fast more than it would reward the 2nd class fast. This perspective may be warped by the fact that I am rarely in the top 20 in the 4x4s, 5x5s or 6x6s.

I would recommend keeping one point for any timed puzzle completed including those with less than 25th best. Otherwise your 2nd proposal does sound like an improvement even though I don't think it would help me.

jpoos: now that was funny........but I do sympathize as you have worked hard to perfect this particular skill in the timed puzzles.....and I would say again, no change is needed......due to the fact that "discrimination will occur to the older users"

marblevolcano

Posted on:Tue Jan 16, 2018 2:24 pm

Posts: 236Joined: Sun May 22, 2016 2:17 pm

Re: no more points below a certain position?

Along a similar line: What if points are given for the daily times, but also points are given based on how well a person did in relation to his/her times? For example, if someone got a personal best but was still 23rd, they should still deserve some points. There could be a scoreboard for this as well (so-and-so is first with their 3rd best, blahblahblah is second with their 23rd best, etc.)

Considering that some people only do timed puzzles once or twice ever, this could be only for users with, say, ten or more solved timed puzzles, and for the users with very many this cold also work for their top 10 times or so.

MY first thought was to leave as is but I like the extension of points idea as well as it'll give some of us old slow pokes a chance to pick up an extra point here & there. I'd like to see an idea I posted probably a year or more ago & see some sort of handicap system like in Golf so everyone is actually playing on an even playing field. It would probably be a bit too much work to be programmed up but maybe your handicap time is your average 65%/100 times & your time would be based from your actual time less your handicap. Maybe run 2 points tables with a point for completing a timed puzzle & keep the current top 10 points table (off scratch points) & another top 10 based on handicap scores.

For example jpoos handicap is 3.975 secs & my handicap is 17.122 for today jpoos did a 3.965 so handicap score would be -0.01 & I did a 21.997 (yes very sad time lol) so my handicap score would be 4.875. I'd use the 65%/100 time as handicap as a lot harder for anyone to fudge times to get a lower handicap (like Golf I've seen people go & play 5 crappy rounds to get a high handicap & than all of a sudden they shave 10 strokes a round better than handicap) as it'd be hard & not worth the time & trouble to go slow over 100 puzzles. I hope that explanation makes sense & no matter what is decided i'll definitely still visit my favourite site on the internet for my daily dose of puzzling.

There are a lot of interesting suggestions, but I imagine a lot of them would be very difficult to program. As I said earlier in this thread, I would prefer things to be left as they currently stand, but expanding the bonus points beyond the top ten is not totally unreasonable and presumably would be a very simple programming change for Patrick. I would be strongly against giving no points to the slower finishers.